Speaking with relatives about family history, I am often told to keep this piece of information between you, me and the gate post. Respecting sensibilities, I will share my family stories entwine with historical events from Copiah, Jefferson and Lincoln Counties, Mississippi, from gate post to gate post.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Herring Plantation House Franklin County, MS

Picture circa 1950

This is a typical plantation house built during the late 1820s. David Herring and his wife Mary Leggett owned this home near the Homochitto River in Franklin County, MS. It was a two story oblong shape with chimneys at either end, a one story lean-to across the back and a porch across the front. It was made of hand hewed logs and covered with dressed lumber. The doors and flooring are hand hewed, and are about two inches thick.

Members of my family were slaves on the Herring farm. They worked the land, cooked the meals, maintained the house. Steve Herring was the fiddler and entertained the guests on the front porch and in the parlor. David Herring died in 1842, leaving a widow with several children. When the children reached their majority, the slaves were distributed causing rifts within slave families.

The enslaved men left the plantation to serve in the Civil War. A few enlisted with the Colored Troops and others worked for the Troops as cooks and laborers. A couple of the men's widows applied for pensions from the United States government, giving informative testimonies about their lives on the Herring place.

Below are recent photos of the home. The second story was taken off and the house still stands. The last picture is of the building that housed the kitchen. Kitchens were built separately from the main house for safety reasons, to protect from kitchen fires.

Pictures Courtesy of Freddie JohnsonHouse description from the research notes of Freddie Johnson.

hey my name is allen everhart i live in natchez ms i am a historian and love this stuff i also metal detect and would like to get permissin to detect this propery will give you what is found my number is 601 493 0353 if no answer leave voice message with number.

My name is Charlie Cameron, my grandparents grew up around this area in Meadville,MS. My grandfathers name was Charlie Cameron as his dad had the same name. My Grandmother was Margie Hickenbottom. I'm interested in learning more about my family.

What a great old house. I wonder what it looked like in its "time", whitewashed and painted. That its still standing is a true testimony to its workmanship. Wow. Like the previous comments said, I know it was hot as hades in spring & summer And during hot flash "seasons", - whew! Those poor cooks!

I love the stories and photo. I'm researching my husbands line in Franklin,Ms. They owned a plantation called Frogmore ( I believe) and his other families in the area.. Ashley, Seale and McMillan had many slaves. I looked in the census after Civil War and found hundreds of free African Americans living in the area with the last names Ashley. I became preoccupied with the slaves and what their lives were like during and after, but haven't had much luck finding any info. We drove up there but could only find a smaller home where the family lived well after the Civil War. I was hoping to connect with some of the families who share a history in that area. Do you know if there are local resources for researching the plantations and the families who lived and worked on them? i.e. library resources online, photos etc.. How did you find your information? Thanks!Cleo Hartmann cleohartmann@yahoo.com

Freddie Johnson shared the photos of the Herring house with me. The older picture was found in a book about the Newman family also shared by Freddie...Local libraries of the area where the families lived are good resources. They often have good local histories contributed by those who families lived in the area.

BTW- I just found your "Dougald McMillan's Inventory Listing - Copiah County, MS" , Dougal was the brother of my husbands 3x great-grandmother who unfortunately held many slaves as well. Their parents were John McMillan & Charity Jones. Cleo

Elizabeth Ann McMillan, she married Elijah B Seale. I'm trying to locate family bibles/wills so I can hopefully find more details about the men/women who were slaves there and if they came from McMillans or Seale family plantations (seeing as she inherited from both father & husbands death)I have a few interested people who may descend from them.

Try familysearch - https://familysearch.org/search/image/index?owc=M7MF-836%3A344534601%3Fcc%3D2036959 - I find slave names in probate records - I believe Franklin County had one of those infamous courthouse fires but you might find something useful.

Hi I was reading your article and got pulled in .. ive been doing research on my family history since my great grand mother died she left with a lot of secrets tucked away .. before she left us she was telling me about how she and her mother lived on a plantation ... I am a great descendant from the leggetts family and ive also been reading that the herring family enslaved a couple of my family members .. I'm just looking for answers to add into my generational book anything will do thank you !

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Southerners are so devoted to genealogy that we see a family tree under every bush.Florence King

Mother to Son

Well, son, I'll tell you:Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.Its had tacks in it,And splinters,And boards torn up,And places with no carpet on the floor---Bare.But all the timeI'se been a-climbin' on,And reachin' landin's,And turnin' cornersAnd sometimes goin' in the darkWhere there ain't been no light.So boy, don't you turn back.Don't you set down on the steps"Cause you finds it's kinder hard.Don't you fall now---For I'se still goin', honey,I'se still climbin',And life for me ain't been no crystal stair